Recognizing Impact & Finding Purpose as a Retiree

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TRANSCRIPT:

[00:00:00] Brent: Welcome everyone to our ninth episode of Our Firefighter Support Podcast. So thanks everybody for being here, especially Chief Fulmer, you know, how busy of a guy you were before retirement. It seems like your busyness has tripled since retirement. It's all good. But appreciate taking time to be with us today.

Let's just start, for those that don't that may be tuning in on this that aren't as familiar with the legend status that you have. Give us a little bit of background on you a little. Intro to your fire career, kind of look, brief resume and tell us about you. Okay.

[00:00:32] Doug: Doug Fulmer. I'm married, have four children that are all married and we've raised all of our children here in Cash Valley.

I was fortunate enough get married in 91 and then went to school at Utah State for quite a while, five years. Couldn't really figure out what I wanted to be and just ended up taking an EMT class. Which started me down the road of getting some exposure with Logan Fire Department. And even then, I didn't have any desire to do the job.

But I started with Logan Fire in 95, worked there for 26 years and it was a good ride.

[00:01:06] Brent: Yeah, that was pretty awesome. And especially, you know, it seems like in today's world guys are switching agencies every so many years, but stay with one agency for your whole career. What kept you at Logan? You know, cause I'm sure there was a lot of changes during your 26 year.

[00:01:22] Doug: Career. Well, that's, yeah, I think there's probably a lot of stuff there that probably was part of the equation, but I grew up here, I've lived in Providence in Nibbly and North Logan, Logan, and so I just have known a lot of people. It's, it means a lot to be able to serve your own community. For me to stay at Logan Fire was super rewarding, super rewarding, just to be able to build relationships with so many people in the community and network. Yeah, I don't think he would've ever saw me leave.

Yeah.

[00:01:50] Brent: Well, that's pretty awesome. Tell me a little bit about Where or where Logan Fire was when you started, and we were talking about it a little bit at, you know, before we started here, but the starting pay was 21,000 when you started.

And just give us an idea of, of just how much things have changed over that course of your career.

[00:02:09] Doug: I'll butcher this, but. John Fullmer tells a really funny story about a fire that happened at McDonald's right on 700 North Main.

Have you guys ever heard him tell that story? I don't think so. Okay. Look, before you leave Logan Fire, before he leaves, you have to grab John Fullmer and have him tell you this story because it really tells you the total contrast between where you guys are today and what we were then. But. You know, it comes down to education and experience, and those people that ran Logan Fire were exceptional at the time.

They've you know, I believe that we stand on the shoulders of giants. And so we are the beneficiaries of everything that they put into the organization back then. However, when they had this fire, it was a car fire at McDonald's. This car pulled up underneath the carport and you know, Deaver Chief Deaver jumped in his vehicle and he went there and he pushed this vehicle out from underneath the carport with just his civilian clothes on.

And the engine pulled up and, Of course it was a fuel line that had broke, so you've got fuel that's spilling onto the ground and it's going downhill because it's kind of a, you know, got a grade to the parking lot and now you got water. And so the fuel's moving faster across the parking lot. Now it's going towards the fire engine, and they're trying to move the hose line to get it there, and it knocks.

One of our firefighters on his butt breaks the regulator. So now you've got a regulator that's spraying everywhere. You've got a firefighter that's down fuel, moving towards the fire engine. It's going underneath the fire engine, and the engineer on the other side can't see it. I mean, it was bad news bears, right?

And now you just look at. The ODP and the things that Chief Hannick has done and many other people along the way. Right? It's not just one person. It's a combination of everybody putting an effort into making such an exceptional organization. Logan Fire is like the bomb. Yeah. That could go

[00:04:05] Brent: off at any second.

No, I was just kidding. Yeah, no, I think that that is cool and, and you know, I think that's one of the things over A course of a career that can be hard for people is to see all that change, right? But it just seems like you're always at the forefront of embracing it and pushing it forward and, and a huge part of our organization in getting us to that next level as well.

And so I think that's pretty awesome. Andy, let's get, let's get it a little intro on you real quick and then just tell us a little bit about you, how your career started and, and a little bit of your resume and, and career history.

[00:04:35] Andy: Well, I mean, I went through UVU for through Fire Academy there. I'd been married, we had my first boy, Logan, he was like six months old when I think Logan Fire just ran outta candidates.

So they, they accepted my, my resume and yeah, that was 19 years ago and we had three other children while we were here in the, in the valley. And So I've just been trying to keep up with guys like Doug really, you know,

[00:05:05] Doug: save the watch. It's getting deep.

[00:05:07] Andy: And, and younger guys like, like Gibbons and, and like you, Brent, I mean, you just bring so much, it's it's hard to keep up with it all, but yeah.

[00:05:16] Brent: Yeah. No, I you know, we all have, we could go on for hours on stories, but I got. Somebody on both of you guys that throughout my career both mostly as a volunteer up to this point, but then the last course the last couple years with Logan. But Andy, tell us a little bit about, because same thing with with Chief Fulmer's you know, one agency for you as well, you know, I think is is kind of a, a cool thing.

Is there, you know, something that, that played a role in that for you?

[00:05:42] Andy: Well, you know, it it, I'll be honest, it's pretty tough to see friends. You know, your brothers go to other departments and and I think there are, each department has its pros and also the cons, like, like it depends on what is gonna be the best for you and for your family.

So some departments offer quite a bit more than Logan has, that Logan just isn't gonna be able to provide. Right. And but also Logan provides things that other departments just wouldn't be able to. And so for, for my family and the things that, that, that Jesse, my wife, and I thought were the most important, then we, we made it work here and, and it really, it's been really good.

So,

[00:06:25] Doug: yeah.

[00:06:26] Jason: Yeah. You, you also had kind of a unique experience, like your house caught on fire mm-hmm. That you responded to it from the fire station, right? You were on

[00:06:34] Andy: duty. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:06:35] Brent: And that didn't scare you away from Logan Fire? Well, I

[00:06:38] Andy: was really grateful for Logan and I was really grateful for Chief Peterson at the time and Chief Meeker because chief Peterson gave me a ride out there.

We live out west of Cash Valley and not in our area. It's not in in Logan City Fire Department zone. And so Chief Peterson gave me a ride out and then while we were going out, chief Meeker got on the radio and asked. Chief Olson and, and Menden, if we could, if Logan could send some more resources to help.

And I was really grateful, you know, for that support. And then, and really that, that helped a lot with, with putting out the fire and that, and then after just a man, just a lot of help from, from everybody here. And, and I talk about that conservatively because everybody has challenges and. And that one was a big one.

And I think it, it was awesome like that people came and helped, but I, I feel like other people have challenges that don't, don't maybe get that same, that same result and they feel, feel a little left out, you know? But that one was just a, a really big one. It was easy to see. And there was, there was lots of ways to help.

And like, we had a, we had a ton of help from the fire department and from others, but but it w it wasn't just, it wasn't cuz of me or anything like that, it was just of the circumstance. A lot of people might feel like, Hey, I, they're having challenges and aren't getting the help, but maybe it's just not as easy to see, or Yeah, it's a little harder to help, you know.

Well,

[00:08:09] Brent: I, I think that's a perfect segue into what we're talking about today, because I think as firefighters, we are helpers. And so when you see that need and it's a very visual, clear thing that needs to be done, you're gonna get. 20, 30, 40 plus guys and that are just anxious to help. Right. But in those moments where you aren't seen like after you retire, right?

Like you're just not, when you're not at the station anymore. I think and the fire services think that's where sometimes we seem to fall a little bit short. The guys we aren't seeing every day, just like you said, it's not seen, not that no one's unwilling to help, right. It's just. Not the big house on fire.

That's the obvious, let's go do this. They

[00:08:49] Jason: may not know. Right? They may not know. Like, honestly, for, for myself, that's been one of the reasons over the course of time, like, hey, like everybody, everybody thinks about other departments or what things might be one way or the other. But for, for me, that was one example.

Right? So, and that was fairly, that was quite a while ago. It was, it was a long time ago. Right. And. I've always thought back and it's like, well, I, I do remember when Andy's house caught on fire. It was, it was always something that stuck out and it wasn't just that, you know, we've had like a natural gas explosion in another one of our members' family's houses.

There was or that was a propane explosion, but there's been multiple things over the course of time when somebody's needed help that people have always kind of stepped up or, you know, heaven forbid if I had that emergency in my house or something similar, I was

[00:09:37] Doug: gonna be able to get there. Yeah. A couple of things that jumped out to me about that was none of us want to go to work and just really sit there all day, right?

We want to go to work, but typically the things that we go and respond on are, are somebody else's worst stay. Right? And if I remember the story right, Andy. Brian Holbrook said something, begin beginning of the shift. He said, man, we need a good working fire today. Mm-hmm. Bless. Bless you heart, Brian. Yeah.

But Holbrook said we need a good worker today. And then he ended up responding on his own house. Yeah. Weren't you the first nozzle in the door? It

[00:10:11] Andy: was a good worker too. It was a good fire, right? Like you had vented through the roof and and I was about to kick the door in and. And Chief Peterson was like, don't you have a key to your house?

I'm like, I don't, I, I don't. He's, so we busted the side window, which was a good idea. But

[00:10:29] Doug: yeah, I'm really glad that it wasn't the plumber though, that caught it on fire. That would've

[00:10:33] Andy: been a bad day. Yeah, that was an interesting thing too, cuz a lot of people from the department helped work on it, you know?

And so all of 'em called and was like, so what was it? Was it my fault? But it was my fault. Yeah. So you know what

[00:10:45] Doug: though, Andy, I'll never forget. How, how you were able to smile through that all. And it wasn't a fake smile, right? Andy was just laughing and just saying, it's just a house. All my family's here.

My belongings are not that important. It's my family. That's the most important. And I think sometimes we do get a little calloused, right? We're there, we become very robotic. We pull up, we do our job, and we, you know, kick crap out of it. And then sometimes forget that that's somebody else's worst day. I don't know.

[00:11:17] Brent: Yeah. Well, and I think both of you have been you know, shining examples of that positivity, you know, and maintaining that throughout the workplace. And sometimes it seems like those are the people that probably need the extra support the most, but they're always giving it out and, and being the most positive.

And but I know that goes a long way for guys. Doug, tell us a couple things about your career that helped you. Have a, you know, we called it yesterday with chief Hanson is kind of an on top retirement. You know, retire while you're on top, you know, things are good. Not a boot out the door kind of scenario, but just, you know, to, to get to that point where you can retire at the top of your game.

[00:11:58] Doug: I don't know that I would say I was on top of my game. I think, you know, you get outta paramedic school and you definitely feel like you're on top of your game and you lose those skills if you're not using them. And so as far as being a paramedic, I felt like I was a bucket of rust by the time I left, but I.

I wanted to leave Logan while I still loved it. I wanted to leave when people still had some shadow of respect for you and that you were of value, right? And so that's, that's a tough spot to try and figure out where that is. Cuz we know that there have been people who have left and understandably so.

They left on a really sour note and we haven't seen him for a long time. Haven't seen him at a Christmas party, haven't seen him come to any of our get togethers and. And that's sad. That's not what we want to have. We want to have 'em leave on a good note. And for me, I think it was about just trying to find balance, find the, find the balance of how much time and energy do I put into work?

How much time do I have for me, and how much time do I have for my family? And, and then any other things that come along with it. Because you all know that you can put 110 hours easily into that place. A week and to what benefit, right? There's plenty of people that are there to work, but it's just about trying to find the balance and I felt like I, I had a good balance.

Yeah.

[00:13:22] Brent: And, and you know, did you kinda have a plan leading up to it or was it kind of week by week?

[00:13:27] Doug: No, I think anybody who's looking to retire you, you should really be spending some time with a U r s, you know, have that. Advisor call you up, spend some time. I've had 'em come to my home. I've gone to you know, they've had meetings where you've had school teachers and, and judges and everybody come together there to ha They used to anyways.

They've had quarterly meetings. It was just wise. Right. You just forecasting. It's the same thing we do every day. We come to work, we prepare for the unknown and that's what it is. You're preparing for the unknown and it would be sad for you to just quit one day and you hadn't prepared a no. How does the u s work?

How do they pay you? And what will be your benefits? What will be your benefits if you die to your wife? And so I, I did that. I just did my homework and try to make that work. I was fortunate enough though to be able to go to work the very next week and do something that I've had a lot of passion doing and It wasn't as hard on my body as being a firefighter.

And so that's a tough segue to leave, to go to do something else that's gonna keep your attention.

[00:14:31] Brent: Yeah. Yeah. And talk. Tell us a little more about that. Cause I think, you know, at least from some of the things we've studied out is that one an important part of retirement is finding something to keep your.

Y you know, not, not just to keep you busy, but to, you know, something that gives you purpose. Something that you can kind of give your heart to again, that, like, I think you said it well, that isn't maybe as hard on you as, as shift work with fire fighting, but you know, to go to retirement and have something else that gives you purpose and, and something to look forward to.

How, how much, I mean, has that played a role in your retirement so far? We could, we could call

[00:15:08] Jason: it fill in the, the gap or the, yeah, the hole left behind.

[00:15:12] Doug: A And it is, it's a very real, it's a huge hole, Brent. I, I, I've been kind of taken back by it, so, you know, this week I wondered if people were worried about me because I've had this opportunity to meet with the four of you and Paul downstairs, and I've had Haass and I've had Neil come to my house this week and it's been super, but it's a really, Big void.

It's almost like moving to another country sometimes, cuz you just don't connect and then you hear sirens and you just, you you just want to jump. Right? You want to go and do I don't, I don't know. I, I've felt fortunate in the things that I've been able to do since my retirement. I tease and say it's not really been a retirement because I'm still putting in 40 hours a week doing something different, but I heard a statistic and I should really check this out and vet it out to see if it's accurate, but, I can believe it.

And that is that they say that firefighter paramedic retires and they changed job five times within five years after that because they're always looking for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that you just can't, you can't replicate. Did

[00:16:16] Brent: did that surprise you more than you thought it would?

I mean, cuz we talk about it a lot, but then when the moment it actually hits, you know, does,

[00:16:23] Doug: yep. It's, it's very real, right? I I try to reach out to people that have retired, but somebody that has been so good has been Jason Gibbons. He'll, he'll call randomly. How you doing today? With no agenda. Right.

Just to talk and just checking on me. Man, that's huge. That just means a lot. It means, you know, I laughed. I took all of my business cards, right. Had tons of business cards and when I left I was hiding them everywhere. Cause I was just teasing. I didn't want anybody to forget me. Right. But. There is, there's a disconnect there that you just can't explain, but it's very palpable.

[00:16:58] Jason: My, my agenda was always to find out what the fish were biting

[00:17:03] Doug: every single time. I wish I could fish as much as you do. Yeah.

[00:17:06] Andy: It was, it was always to find out what the fish were biting.

[00:17:09] Brent: And one thing. And I think different ways to cope with that disconnect or that hole, that void. You know, there's better ways than other, and I think, you know, there's certainly some negative paths guys can take to try to, to deal with that.

What are some positive things that you've done to deal with that? And if you're okay talking about it. I know you mentioned earlier you've been meeting with Jody. Yeah. Maybe talk about that experience and, and what it's like meeting with a clinician as a retiree and, and just why that's been important to you.

So,

[00:17:36] Doug: It's always good to have something that someone else needs. And being a plumber seems like everybody needs something, so they still just gimme a call and ask for some input. And I've been fortunate enough to spend the last five months at at Chief Hick's house and just doing his remodel and, and always playing catch up, which means I'll stop into the station to talk to 'em about stuff and get a rub shoulders with everybody, but it.

It's two-way street, right? You want everybody from the department to reach out to you, but you gotta reach back to them as well. And sometimes we kind of feel like, you know, we've just been turned out to pastor and we're of no value. But I always loved it. One guys would come into this station. Lynn Nayer was so good about that.

He would just come in regularly just to come and say hi and I, you know, those are the times you just want to drop what you're doing. Troy Parker said one time. I would I'd love to come back to Logan Fire. I feel like I could just jump right back into the seat and do the exact same thing. I just feel like I could just do it right now.

But just staying connected with everybody, just a simple text that, that's super. As far as meeting with a clinician, I probably needed to meet with a clinician even during my career. Right? There's, there were some tough, tough stuff that we've all had to see and. You just can't ring that. I don't, I just don't know how that we could do it on our own.

We want to be that guy that just says, I can and I can chuck this, and it just doesn't work. That that's a profession that they're skilled in. And Jody is exceptional. I didn't think she was gonna be a good fit for me at first. Right when I walked into the room and met with her, she was just loud and obnoxious.

I'm like, oh my gosh, we are not gonna be a good match. She, she tells a story, and I won't divulge you. It was, but if anybody's watching this, they'll know who I'm talking about if, if they watch it. But she said, one of our guys showed up there and everybody had been teasing him, telling him that. If you go and meet with her, you have to lay down, you know, just like you're meeting with Sigmund Freud.

And so he walked into the room and she said he stood there for like five minutes trying to decide how to lay down on the couch so he could start talking about his childhood. But she's been really good and I, you know, I even met with her just this last week. I'd probably go there about once every six weeks, every two months.

And sometimes it's just to help relieve stress or anxiety. She said she has a good take on firemen and military and policemen and medics that w we're dopamine addicts, whether we know it or not, and we need that dopamine fix. And then all of a sudden when you retire, you don't get that anymore. It causes a vacuum.

You're trying to figure out how to fill it Is, is a challenge. Yeah.

[00:20:22] Brent: I, I think that's, I think that's so great for you to, to be able to talk about that. And should I, cause I'm sure there's guys that maybe have thought about it, but it's so much easier if, you know, other people are doing it too. You know, and, and I think even now with guys in their career, I feel like when we initially started bringing clinicians in, there's a little bit of uneasiness maybe.

But now we're, I think, a couple years into it. And, and it just seems like it's more of the norm. It's gonna, it's every day it's becoming more and more the norm that it's. To check in with a clinician is not probably what people think it is. It's just a, a good way to check in. Andy, I'm interested on your thoughts here because, you know, as you claim, which we know isn't true, but your claim, your crew's kicking you out the door.

Here you're coming up close to your 20. What are some of the thoughts you've had as, as you're approaching at least that stage? You know, I know a lot of guys stay longer, but when that starts becoming a reality what are some of the thoughts and, and feelings that are coming through

[00:21:20] Andy: conversation?

Well, just to be clear, I got one to 10 more years. I'm not doing a day over

[00:21:25] Brent: 10.

[00:21:25] Andy: You know, I'm, I'm really curious to, to see what, because I have an idea, an expectation of what it'll be like. But, but like Doug working you know, I'll I'll be doing something, another career. Not likely to fill, fill the void or be the similar to this, to this job.

But yeah, I'm interested to see, to see how it is for, for me, you know, cuz in my mind I say, yeah, I'm gonna be just fine. Right? No big deal. But, but then the reality of is it, it may not be, you know what I'm thinking, but I've got some, some what I consider good friends that have retired like Doug and.

And Scott and Troy and and, and of those three all of 'em have dealt with it a little bit different. So I think it's a little bit different for, for everybody. And sometimes it's it's kinda what, what, what you make of it. Like a lot of life. I think you know, some, some guys that have stayed at Logan Fire instead of going to other places.

We're maybe not as happy and left a little grumpy or whatever. But I'm not sure that they would've left any other department any different. Right. Just because of, of what we, what we tell ourselves, the storylines that we give ourselves and kind of the, the attitudes that we choose to choose to have.

But, so I hope that it'll be awesome, you know, and I can be a fun grandpa and I mean, those are the things that I look forward to. But but I don't know. I might just like be in Jodi's office every day trying to, trying to make it through life. But I am very grateful that we have the resources to be able to go and see, see clinicians or you know, to get that added.

Just help or boost or whatever. So, yeah.

[00:23:15] Brent: I kind of want to, cause and we talked again when we were speaking with Brady too, just how much attitude plays a role in not just your career, but how much that bleeds over into retirement too. You know, and when you develop a pattern and a habit of a positive attitude, it just seems like, you know, it's much easier for that to carry over into retirement than to maybe be a little bit more.

Grumpy throughout your career and then to think something's magically gonna change when you retire, you know? And so, captain Shock tussle, how do you maintain that? You know, because I'm smiling. I think smiling all the time. Just smiling all the time. And I don't think anybody in the history of Logan Fire at every peg you as a grumpy person.

Not even like, I can't even have one memory I've ever seen you a little bit grumpy.

[00:24:03] Andy: Oh, that, that's just people that don't know me that good. You know, I was, I was bl very blessed with awesome parents and family and you know, they're like, my mom and dad are pretty great examples to me because life wasn't super easy for 'em.

They went through some huge challenges that I, I didn't really realize at the time. And, and they just always tried to make the best, the best of the situation that they had. And, I, I guess that might've just roll, rolled over a little bit. I mean, my dad, yeah. I, I never, he had a lot of opportunities to complain about life or the way things were, the way things he wanted them, and he just made him the best that he could.

And so that was a pretty good example to me. And then, and then I just haven't been happy with myself when I have gotten angrier upset. You know, and it, and it's definitely happened. Lost my temper or something. And then, I just realized that that's, that didn't help the situation and it didn't help my life.

And, and I just haven't seen a lot of option, opportunity, or experiences where it has. And so I, I just choose to try and try and make the best of it. And I tell the, tell, at least the crew and my kids, that sometimes you just gotta make a decision right or wrong, and, Make the best, best of it with whatever the decision was.

But

[00:25:22] Brent: yeah, no, I think that's great. You know, I think sometimes we probably overthink it, like there's gotta be some complicated formula to being happy all the time. But I think you said it well, you know, it's a simple decision and you choose to make the best of it and, and carry on, you know, and, and sometimes don't, don't overthink it.

Chief, you're kinda the same way. You know, it's just like always, you know, had tons of energy. And how, how did you kind of maintain that throughout your career and, and how did that, how has that bled over into your retirement?

[00:25:50] Doug: I don't think I was happy unless I was around Andy. Oh,

[00:25:54] Andy: listen to this

[00:25:55] Brent: guy

[00:25:56] Jason: smiling

[00:25:57] Doug: all the time.

I think it's generational too, right? If you go to Andy's house, one of his kids has a great big smiley face painted on one of the walls. It's like six feet in diameter. And Andy was always, I call them eb, the Energizer bunny, cuz he just was one of those people you just wanted to be around. Chief Humphrey's had a quote that I've remembered and he said, you know what?

You choose to be happy. Every morning I get up in the morning and I choose to be happier. I choose not to be happy and it's work. I think it's a challenge for all of us and those people that are good at it doesn't just come naturally. I think that they have to work at it too. Everybody, everybody's in a storm coming out of a storm or going into a storm, and it's how you choose to deal with those storms really is, you know, whether or not people want to spend time around with you, but who doesn't wanna work on a shift or work?

On a crew with Andy Shock. Right. That's just,

[00:26:51] Brent: it's exceptional. The waiting list is long. Yeah. I can vouch that. It is,

[00:26:54] Doug: it, it is very, very true. And his kids are very much like that too. But you know, I look at I look at the fire department today and it starts at the bottom and moves up and it starts at the top and it moves down.

And there are reasons, plenty of reasons for us to be ornery and to be mad. There's things that will. Be demoralizing to us. And we can all sit around and we can just be pissed off about it and, and yell and, or we can choose to try and make a change and be the difference. Right. I guess I feel fortunate that I got to work at Logan Fire Department.

So for me it was a choice. I was gonna be a contributor no matter where I was. I swore long ago that I was not going to be the lazy firefighter. And retire from there, fat, lazy, and, and just old and ornery. I just didn't want to be that person. And so every day you just put on your game face and say, I'm gonna come to work and I'm gonna earn every penny that I get paid.

And yep, maybe there's other departments that get paid more, but there's some serious benefit about working at Logan Fire Department. And so for me, I, I wanted to be a contributor.

[00:28:06] Brent: Yeah. You know, I'll never forget what you told me when I first started and you said it repeatedly in trainings and stuff, but you know that there's no.

Growth in the comfort zone. No comfort in the growth zone. Tell us a little bit about retirement. Does that still apply to retirement? Is there still growth in retirement or is it finally time to just accept the comfort zone?

[00:28:27] Doug: No, there is no comfort in retiring and you'll continue to just find yourself in, in uncomfortable positions.

And I think we're just being stretched, right? We all have. Something that you can offer, whether it's at home, whether it's in another job, whether it's another profession. I think that all of us walk away from there with having some experience that the rest of the world can't appreciate. Right. I do say that it's, it's like the taste of salt.

You can try and explain it to someone else, but unless they've actually experienced it, they, they can't understand what it's like to work there. But you have, you have things that you can do in your community. You have plenty of things that you can contribute. Even, even today, you know, I had a guy come to my house who's been a previous city councilman, and I know it sounds stupid, but I'm like, maybe that's something I should pursue is maybe looking to be in a, a city councilman because I have some understanding about the needs of a community now having worked at Logan Fire Department.

So, I don't know if that answered your question, but it's very uncomfortable retiring. Just keep stretching yourself and try and find some place where you can give back.

[00:29:35] Brent: Yeah. Yeah. And, and you know, there's plenty of growth in retirement. You don't stagnate, you know, there's plenty of opportunities for growth, which is why it's uncomfortable, right?

Yeah. There's plenty of opportunities to try things and, and continue. Just as we, as we kind of wrap up here you know, I'd be interested to hear kind of everybody's take, you know, for those that are retired, that are tuning in on this podcast series. Kind of what's, what's one thing you wish every Logan retiree knew?

You know, whether, you know, coming from, from the, the three of you that have been with Logan for a long time, but if, if you could ta send one message to every Logan retiree kind of, what would that message be? P

[00:30:15] Doug: Well,

[00:30:16] Andy: I think maybe, maybe they forgot. Cause. Doug mentioned that, you know, passing out those business cards, you, you don't, you know, you kinda don't wanna be forgotten.

You still wanna be part of the team, even though, even though it's definitely a different situation, but most of, most of the guys that have left still get talked about quite a bit. Usually it's when they've done something really dumb. So, so you're still remembered, maybe not in the capacity that that you, that you hope for or your desire for and.

And Logan Fire. W they, you know, those that, that retired at Logan Fire made a huge difference in the department and the way that, the way that it's ran and, and the good and the bad, but mostly a way for the good and paved the way to make it a way easier and better for, for us that are still here.

And so we appreciate it, you know, we appreciate it. All the, all the, the things that you taught and the things that you, you stood for. And the examples that you were, I mean, just today we were talking about Bob Goodwin Paulson brought him up, said, you know, when we're driving in the engine, we need to drive down Main Street, be proud and be on parade, and let the little kids know that you know, that we're out here and that we care about him.

And so, how

[00:31:28] Doug: long's Bob been gone? Man, it's gotta be six years, six, seven years now. Yeah.

[00:31:33] Andy: Yeah. You know, you laid some, some really strong foundations that, that all of us still use a lot, you know, I mean, examples for me were like Bob Vance, like Ro rolling up hoses a captain, you know, always remember that he was always cleaning the station, cleaning the bay.

He was always busy doing stuff and gave me some great, some great teaching lessons. I don't know the guys that. When you leave, you may think that you've totally separated, but you're still very much a part of what we do our everyday life and, and will be likely for a long time. So,

[00:32:05] Brent: yeah.

[00:32:06] Jason: Awesome. Yeah, I, I, I think you said that great, Andy.

You get, they're missed, right? For me, watching, watching my friends retire, the guys that I've worked with, everything else. It's, it's rough. Like those, those retirement parties, everything, even the weeks leading, leading up to it, my wife, she asked me, she's like, so are you going into mourn again? Is this gonna be like your, you're going through the different stages of grief time because it's so hard to, to spend that much time with somebody and then know that at least the, the work portion of that's coming to an end.

Right? Those guys, they're, they're your family. You guys are missed. Pretty much, pretty much every day that at the station, right? We, you, you've taught so many people, so many things over the course of time that it's, it can't be replaced. It's invaluable, right? The, I guess the, the thing I think about is, am I, am I meeting the expectation is one of the senior guys now, am I, am I passing those things along the way that they were passed onto me?

So thank you for the example.

[00:33:09] Doug: Well, first the guys, girls still on duty, still doing the, the gig. Keep your head on a swivel. The last thing I ever want to hear is that one of our people have a, a career ending injury. Something that you know is preventable. If it's predictable, it's preventable. And and I think sometimes we do have that persona that we, we are invincible.

And so I just hope that nothing ever happens there for the person that's retired, man, even like this next Monday I'm gonna go to lunch with John Cox. So I love being connected and if you're out there and you're kind of wondering, how can I get connected, man, start with me. Gimme a call. I would love to do something like that, but you're missed, you're loved.

We appreciate everything that you did to, to build Logan Fire and, and as a contributor and you're still part of the family. I still feel connected. I do, even though, you know, my skillset isn't what it was. I'm still family and I, I'll, I'll always treasure my time at Logan Fire for sure. Yeah. Thank

[00:34:15] Brent: you.

I think that was all very well said, and and I have nothing to speak to that other than I'm on the other end of the kitchen table just hearing all the stories and. You know, I think as the new guys listen to those stories, you can't help but think, man, I hope that one day I'm being talked about like that.

Or on the kitchen table, it's what a cool, cool thing, you know? And, and so what, like you said, what great examples have led the way before us and, and what mantle you're creating for the new guys to have to carry on one day. But I think as kind of our, our final shout out, I just wanna remind everybody that the peer support team, With Logan Fires, not just for the current members, that there's lots in the works and currently happening for retirees, including the clinicians, you know, the clinicians.

I think that's one of the, the biggest steps we've had in enabled to get those clinicians for retirees and their family members at no cost. You know, any clinician you want, we have a bunch on the website that are vetted and, and have done ride alongs, and so are a little familiar with the culture at Logan Fire.

But if you have somebody else that, that you want to go see, then there's a way for you to do that. And it's a hundred percent private. So if there's any questions about any of that, I hope anybody would reach out and, and any member of the peer support team is ready to, to help you make that appointment.

Or I hope the website's good enough that you can, if you wanna make that appointment on your own without letting anybody know that you can do that too. But lots of great resources here to connect to and, and reach out at any time. So thank you everyone for being here today. Thank you for your words.

This is gonna go a long way, so I appreciate it.

[00:35:48] Doug: Thanks, Brent.